No. 16 Miami looks to avoid upset at ACC foe Virginia

Hurricanes coach Mark Richt discussed his team ahead of No. 16 Miami's game at Virginia on Saturday.

Even after a dramatic comeback against rival Florida State in which they secured their fifth straight win and moved up a spot in the AP Top 25, the Miami Hurricanes weren’t exactly happy.

That’s because many of them – including center Tyler Gauthier and running back DeeJay Dallas – believe Miami is a better team than it showed against FSU. And as the 16th-ranked Hurricanes begin a critical stretch of ACC Coastal Division play with a Saturday night showdown at Virginia, more than a few of Miami’s players, particularly on offense, say it’s time to play to their potential.

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“We got our tails kicked most of the game against FSU,” said Gauthier. “We came back and won because our defense helped us. [In Tuesday’s practice] we played like we were going to get our tails kicked again. I don’t want that to happen.”

For Miami (5-1, 2-0 ACC), one of the big keys against Virginia will be to stay mentally and emotionally engaged. The Cavaliers aren’t the high-profile, emotionally charged rival the Hurricanes faced last week.

Instead, Virginia (3-2, 1-1) is an upset-minded team looking to bounce back after a 35-21 loss to North Carolina State on Sept. 29. The Cavaliers, who before that loss to the Wolfpack had won back-to-back games over Ohio and Louisville, are also coming off a bye and have had time to rest, get healthy, and put in some wrinkles they might use against the Hurricanes.

And while the Hurricanes hold a three-game edge in the all-time series, they have struggled in Charlottesville, posting a 4-3 record there.

Still, Hurricanes coach Mark Richt said this week he’s hopeful playing on the road after facing Florida State could help Miami stay focused.

“In away games, there’s nothing to do but focus on the game, focus on your job, focus on my call sheet, focus on the last-minute things you want to do to prepare as a coach and a player,” Richt said. “And there’s a little bit to being the team that everybody’s trying to beat, everybody’s against you, it’s us against them. That mentality does resonate with players, so I think there’s some value to it.”

For Miami, there will also be value in protecting redshirt freshman quarterback N’Kosi Perry, who will make his first road start. Perry, who has started Miami’s last two games, struggled in the first half against Florida State, completing just 7 of 18 passes for 89 yards. He faced intense pressure from the Seminoles’ defensive front and missed enough open targets that Richt considered making a quarterback change with veteran Malik Rosier.

But the coach stayed with Perry, who bounced back and finished the game with 204 yards and four touchdowns. And Gauthier made it clear this week the Hurricanes’ offensive line has to do a better job protecting the young quarterback.

Defensively, the Hurricanes – who are among national leaders in several defensive categories, including tackles for loss, opponents’ third-down conversions and total defense -- will have to contend with another dual-threat quarterback in Bryce Perkins. Perkins, a junior, has thrown for 1,125 yards and 11 touchdowns, while rushing for 341 yards and another three scores.

Miami did a solid job containing FSU’s Deondre Francois last week, but had some issues early with quarterback Chazz Surratt scrambling in the Hurricanes’ 47-10 win over North Carolina last month.

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“The spread, it really turns into option football, so again, if you have to squeeze a block, squeeze a block. If you have to play the quarterback, play the quarterback. Play the dive, play the dive,” Hurricanes defensive coordinator Manny Diaz said. “That’s something that’s sort of transformed college football over the years. Even though they’re in shotgun, they’re still running triple-option principles at you and that challenge is really with us every week. … So, the guys saw, ‘Do I really have to be there?’ Yes. When you’re not there, bad things happen.”